The silence was deafening.
Nobody said anything, simply watching the exchange in the tense atmosphere, glancing between the supe and the man who fired a gun at him.
You could cut the tension with the knife, and if looks could kill, MM would've killed Soldier Boy a hundred times over.
"What the FUCK?!" Soldier Boy exclaimed, glaring at the man who'd dared fire at him.
"MM, what the bloody hell?"
"You killed my family, you motherfucker!" MM yelled, firing the gun again as he approached.
Soldier Boy growled, raising his shield as he glared at the man. He started to move towards MM, but he was stopped after only a few steps when Nolan stepped in front of him.
"Don't." Nolan warned, turning to look at Butcher. "Get him, Butcher."
"Frenchie, Hughie!" All three men closed in on MM, Butcher smacking the gun from his hand as they all held him from moving any further.
"You're really gonna let him get away with that?!" Stormfront exclaimed, glaring at Nolan, who's own gaze was stern.
"I'm more concerned with what he's saying." Nolan said, looking at Soldier Boy. "What does he mean?"
"I don't fucking know!" Soldier Boy shouted, anger in his features. "I haven't hurt anybody!"
"Fuck you, motherfucker!" MM shouted. "You killed my whole fucking family! My grandfather!"
"I didn't kill anyone!" Soldier Boy shouted back, now trying to push past Nolan, who was holding him from moving any further.
By now, the other members of the Guardians of the Globe were becoming aware of what was happening. Most of them were focusing on keeping civilians out of the possible crossfire, but Love Sausage and Maeve were closing in to help out.
Both were stunned at the mere site of Soldier Boy. Despite what had happened to him now being public knowledge, it was still quite the site to see the legend in person.
"You lying piece of shit!" MM roared, the other three Boys struggling hard to keep him in place.
"Marvin, stand down!" Nolan shouted. "Maeve, help them!"
With a nod, Maeve moved towards MM, her superhuman strength easily keeping MM in place with little struggle.
"I ain't a fucking liar!" Soldier Boy growled.
Both Love Sausage and Stormfront were now moving towards Soldier Boy, trying to keep this from escalating any further.
"Ben, stop." Stormfront said softly, resting her hands on his shoulder.
"Stop, friend. This is no place for hostility." Love Sausage said firmly, holding Soldier Boy by the shoulder as the man struggled against them.
"Fuck you! 1982, three idiots in a Mercedes Benz! You launched that fucking thing at my home!" MM roared, still struggling against Maeve, despite the fact that he was completely restrained by her.
Soldier Boy's face scrunched up, a quick flash of guilt before he was roaring again. "That was a fucking accident!"
"Tell that to my family, my grandfather, you piece of shit!"
Nolan had enough.
"ENOUGH!"
The sheer volume of his voice silenced everyone there, and all attention was on him.
"Marvin, this is an evacuation site, these people have just been through something truamatic!" He exlclaimed, nodding towards the civilians who were watching the scene in slight discomfort. "This is not the place for this!"
"But-"
"No! This is not the time!"
Nolan's gaze snapped towards Soldier Boy. "And you, I don't know what he's talking about, but I will not tolerate another Homelander."
"I'm not like that fucking psycho, I came to help out!" Soldier Boy shouted, indignant.
"Well, you're not giving me much of a reason to trust you right now."
Soldier Boy's lips tightened as he gritted his teeth at Nolan's words, and he aggressively backed away. "Fine."
"Ben…" Stormfront spoke softly as she rested her hand on Soldier Boy's shoulder. "Calm down."
Soldier Boy sighed, but he nodded. "Alright."
Nolan glanced between both men. "Whatever this is, deal with it later. Right now, we need to focus on these people."
Both men glared at each other, still heated from the exchange for a moment, before Soldier Boy nodded. "Alright."
MM just continued to glare at Soldier Boy.
"Marvin, that's enough." Nolan said sternly.
"Come on, man, I want to let you go already." Maeve groaned as she looked at the man.
Finally, after a moment, MM huffed. "Just keep that fucker away from me."
James Stillwell sat in his office at the top of Vought Tower, watching news footage of the aftermath of the Flight 97 hijacking.
The reporters were trying to get an interview with Omni-Man, but that guy, Butcher, his men were keeping them from entering the premises.
But it wasn't Omni-Man he was focusing on.
In the background, he could see him.
Soldier Boy.
He should've known that someone would bring him back now that his true fate was public.
He remembered the idea being proposed to him by Edgar in 1984. After authorizing Vogelbaum's project to create Homelander, Edgar had proposed a plan to get rid of Soldier Boy, since he wouldn't heed to Vought's commands.
James had gotten in contact with the military, offered Payback's help in Nicaragua.
He had told Edgar that he was responsible for anything that happened to the team in Nicaragua.
Unsurprisingly, Edgar had reported Soldier Boy as 'dead'.
Also unsurprisingly, that was as far from the truth as possible.
Though, he was proud of his apprentice. He'd taught him to play all sides, after all.
Luckily, not only was Omni-Man there to keep Soldier Boy in line, but if everything went according to plan…
So would Project Icon.
Standing to his feet, James made his way to the digital fire place, in his office, reaching his hand towards the touch pad to activate it. Once active, he input a series of commands into it, before resting his hand on it.
Having grown used to this method, since he'd used it for years, he did not react outwardly when a thin, razor sharp needle suddenly jutted out into his finger.
Then a voice rang out.
DNA Match confirmed. Welcome, James Stillwell.
Suddenly, the fireplace split apart, and behind it was an elevator.
James had it built years before Edgar had taken over, and even then, he made sure that only he, and a select few people knew about it.
Stepping inside, he pressed the only other floor this particular elevator went to.
Without any sort of reaction from James, the fireplace closed quickly, and the elevator quickly decended, far past the underground basement, and deeper.
It took a literal minute, but finally, the elevator arrived, deep underground.
When the elevator doors opened, James stepped out into the long hallway the elevator had taken him too.
At the other end of the hallway was a pair of massive sliding doors, which split and opened wide when James approached.
And inside, was the staff for Project Icon.
"Dr. Simmons." James greeted politely, nodding his head to the scientist.
Unlike most people, even his own cousing, Dr. John Simmons was one of the few people James had genuine respect for.
Mostly because like James, he had an unshakable drive to get his work done.
"Mr. Stillwell. Always a pleasure." The doctor greeted, leaving behind a few other scientists to continue their work as he moved to walk alongside the man.
"How goes Project Icon?" James asked.
"We've finally perfected how to add new elements without completely destabilizing the composition or forcing ourselves to start from scratch." Dr. Simmons replied, proud of his words.
"And the new element you were afforded?"
"Added without trouble, and bonded exceedingly well."
James glanced over at Simmons. "And the additional Compound V?"
"While what already existed was enhanced, any additional Compound V is burned out." Simmons explained. "The new element really does exceed V in potential."
"And the implanted programming?"
"Already done."
"Good."
As the two spoke, they approached a tube, gazing at what was inside.
"I have to ask though, Mr. Stillwell. Where did you get the new element?" Dr. Simmons asked curiously.
"For that, we have the late Homelander to thank. HIs temper tantrum was good for something after all."
Who would've thought that Homelander screaming at the top of his lungs would've provided the biggest miracle James could've ever imagined.
A single drop of Omni-Man's blood.
James looked at the shape inside the tube, eying it critially.
Inside, was a man. A large, muscular man, reminiscent of Homelander.
With black hair, and a thick mustache.
Still nodded. "Good work, Dr. Simmons."
"Only the best is acceptable among my team, Mr. Stillwell."
Black Noir walked among the crowd of people, his eyes scanning over them to make sure they were all okay.
Outside of minimal injuries to a few people, they were mostly unharmed, just shaken from the experience.
Noir found himself grunting slightly as he accidentally bumped into someone.
"Oh, sorry about that, frie-"
The voice cut itself off as both the owner and Noir turned to look at each other.
And Noir found himself looking at Soldier Boy.
"Noir…"
Noir would be lying if he said he wasn't uncomfortable. The site of Soldier Boy admittedly had him on edge.
The two men looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed with this sudden, unexpected, and admittedly unwanted interaction.
"... How have you been?" Soldier Boy sounded somewhat hesitent to ask, but he did anyway. "Still trying to lose the mask?"
Noir shook his head.
"Really? I thought you wanted to be seen as yourself, instead of a silent ninja?" So Soldier Boy had remembered that conversation. He was admittedly shocked. "What happened?"
Noir pulled out his notepad, and began writing, when Soldier Boy spoke again.
"What's with the notepad? Why are you so quiet, you used to be so fucking talkative."
Shaking his head, Noir continued writing, and he could hear Soldier Boy's annoyed sigh as he wrote. Once he was finished, he showed Soldier Boy the notepad.
Nicaragua happened. Can't speak anymore.
Soldier Boy's eyes dulled as he read the notepad. "Nicaragua, huh? How bad?"
Too scarred. Burned. Mask hides the ugly features. Noir wrote.
Soldier Boy scoffed. "Please. Show your scars like a man, wear them loud and proud."
Noir's eyes narrowed under his mask as he wrote on the pad.
Easy for you to say. You can't be hurt by human weapons.
Soldier Boy's eyes hardened as he glared at Noir. "You have no fucking clue what the Russians put me through these past decades."
Noir could see the pain hidden behind his former leaders eyes. After all…
He carried that same pain.
He scribbled quickly on his notepad.
Sorry.
Soldier Boy stared at the notepad for a moment, before he sighed. "You're fine."
"Soldier Boy?"
A little boy walked up to the superhero, tugging on his pants leg as he looked up at the superhero in wonder.
Shrugging off his previous attitude, he looked down at the child with a smile on his face. "What's up little guy?"
"Are you back for good?" He asked.
Soldier Boy chuckled, and crouched down on one knee. "Son, what's your name?"
"Aaron."
"Aaron, huh?" Soldier Boy grinned. "Well, let me tell you, I'm back, and I'll be back for a long time, little guy."
"You saved my grandfather from a tank during World War II." The child said, admiration in his voice. "I wish there were more heroes like you."
Soldier Boy laughed. "Well, I think there are a lot more good heroes than you think."
The boy nodded. "Like Omni-Man?"
Soldier Boy nodded. "Like Omni-Man."
"Aaron, where are you?!"
The sound of a woman's voice called out, and the little boy turned around.
"Coming mom!"
As the boy scampered off, Soldier Boy stood back up on his feet.
Noir watched, stunned.
"I'm an asshole. I know it. I was raised like that. And I don't regret it." Soldier Boy spoke, turning to look at his former teammate. "I know I smacked around Gunpowder. Hell, I smacked a lot of you around. I wanted to toughen you all up, turn you all into real men."
Noir could only stare, shellshocked.
"But Russia… well, I guess the truth is I took you all for granted."
Noir looked at the man, completely baffled at this unexpected turn of events.
He was telling the complete truth. He was an asshole. He had smacked Gunpowder around, he'd say the meanest, most hurtful things…
"But now I know that you all hated me."
Noir scribbled quickly.
Not me.
Soldier Boy raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Noir nodded.
Sure, went along with it. But I never wanted to be a part of it.
Soldier Boy looked at Noir, confused. "You… you knew?"
The look of hurt on Soldier Boy's face put more guilt in Noir than he could've imagined. Hesitantly, he nodded.
Soldier Boy looked absolutely broken, like the one good tie he'd had to his past had just shattered. His look of sadness twisted into one of anger, and he shook his head.
"Fuck you, Erving."
The site of Soldier Boy stomping off hurt more than he'd admit.
But, hey, it was just another thing he was guilty of, wasn't it?
"I know what he did to your family, but that fucking stunt? In front of god knows how many people?!"
"Spare me the third degree, Butcher." MM scoffed, glaring at the bearded man. "We both know you never cared for other people before."
"Yeah, but that was me! You're supposed to be the heart of this fucking team! The saint that fights the monster!" Butcher yelled, absolutely livid. "You're really willing to throw it all away for Soldier Boy?"
"Hey, remember you and Homelander?" MM retorted.
"Hypocritical as it is, Butcher has a point MM." Frenchie spoke, looking at the man. "You are not supposed to be like Butcher. You're supposed to be better."
"Yeah, I mean, you were the one with the most to lose. You're lucky the media wasn't here yet." Hughie remarked, his arms crossed as he looked at the man in front of him.
"He killed my family-"
"And you made that very clear to a bunch of traumatized innocents!" Butcher cut him off. "Think, what if Janine was one of those poor souls out there?"
"Fuck you Butcher! Don't you dare put that shit on me!"
"Well you gotta see a fucking point somehow!"
With a sigh, Hughie turned and left the communications van, tired of the argument already.
As he exited the van, he nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice that spoke up next to him.
"Rough day?"
"Ah!" Hughie jumped in fright as he turned, only to feel embarrassment when he spotted Starlight standing next to him, laughing. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Sorry." She giggled. "Nolan told me to keep guard in case the big guy, Marvin, tried to pull something else."
"The way MM's acting right now, not a bad idea." Hughie agreed, offering his hand to the woman. "I'm Hughie."
Starlight nodded. "Since you're a part of Butcher's team, I'm assuming you already know my name is Annie."
"Oh, I knew, but not because of that." Hughie admitted. "Honestly, I'm surprised you don't recognize me."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow at his words.
"We met in Central Park? On the park bench?"
At his words, Starlight's eyes widened as recognition set in. "Oh my god, I thought you looked familiar!"
Hughie laughed. "Yeah, I'm the guy from the park."
"You know, your words that day really helped me stand up for myself." She admitted, smiling fondly at the memory.
"I take it no one gave you any more trouble after that?" Hughie asked.
Starlight nodded. "Exactly. Though, to be fair, it wasn't really long afterwards that Nolan curbstomped Homelander. That was as terrifying as it was inspiring."
Hughie grinned. "Man, I wish I was there to see that."
"So, how did you meet these guys?"
"Um, you heard about A-Train running through that girl on the news?"
"Yeah."
"That was Robin. My girlfriend."
Starlight's eyes widened. "Oh my god, I am so sorry."
"No, it's okay." Hughie said, waving it off. "You didn't know."
"You know, ever since that reveal, A-Train's been off the radar."
Hughie's mood soured slightly at her words. "I know. We have no clue where he's gone. And apparently, he's ripped out his tracking chip."
Starlight's eyes widened. "What?"
Hughie nodded. "Yeah. We found his and Popclaw's chips coated in blood along Route 66."
Starlight gasped. "Jesus Christ."
"You know, the weird thing is, I'm not mad that he ran." Hughie admitted, looking at Starlight. "I'm mad because he gets to have a life with his girlfriend, even though he took mine."
Starlight's eyes widened at Hughie's words. "That's… well, honestly, I don't know what to say."
"It's terrible, isn't it?"
"It is… but I can't really blame you." Starlight admitted, to Hughie's surprise. "He gets a happy ending of sorts, meanwhile he's robbed you of yours."
"I think what really kills me, is the fact that I know Robin wouldn't want this for me."
Starlight was silent for a moment, watching as Hughie dropped his head into his hands, groaning.
"Actually, I think she'd be happy right now."
Hughie's eyes widened as she turned to look at Starlight in surprise.
"If she cared about you as much you seem to her," Starlight spoke. "Then… I think she'd be happy that your working to prevent incidents like what happened to her."
Hughie seemed to think over her words. "You really think that?"
Starlight nodded. "I do."
The two looked at each other for a moment. And then Hughie smiled.
"Are you trying to pay me back for the park?"
Starlight laughed. "Maybe."
Hughie smiled. "Well… thank you."
Starlight returned Hughie's smile. "I'm glad I can help.
MM had pretty much been confined to the van. Butcher had refused to allow him to continue assisting with Soldier Boy present, and as much as he was loathe to admit it, not only was it a good idea, but Butcher basically had legal say in these matters no.
So MM pretty much had no choice but to listen.
As he stood at the edge of the van, taking apart and rebuilding his government issued pistol, he heard the door behind him open.
"Come to hound me some more, Butcher?"
"I'm not Butcher."
MM snapped around immediately at the sound of the voice.
It wasn't Butcher who had entered the van.
It was Soldier Boy.
"Tell me about that night."
A/N: So, Soldier Boy is confronting MM.
As many of you can probably tell, the events of Soldier Boy's capture happened a little differently in my fic, and he's not the completely controlling abusive piece of shit he was revealed to be.
Yeah, Stormfront's Nazi past is being kept from Soldier Boy.
Also, I'm finally getting around to Hughie and Starlight!
I don't care what you say, that's the best fucking couple in the show.
Also, James Stillwell is up to something, and thanks to Homelander's sonic shout during their showdown, they were able to obtain a sample of Omni-Man's DNA.
Oh, shit's gonna go down.
Anyway, that's the end of the chapter, don't forget to review. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you in the next chapter.